Chapter 202: The Apocalypse Is Only the Beginning

Serath only took one step.

Yet the moment he stepped forward, several nearby zombies lowered their heads instinctively.

The 3rd Echelon beings surrounding him remained upright, but even they became more attentive.

Serath looked past the ruined street.

His dark crimson eyes remained focused on Cain for a moment, then his gaze moved toward Mo Xuanye, Viktor, and finally Ron.

The disappointment on his face weakened as interest replaced more of it.

"You’re the Heavenly Dragon, right?"

The Youngest Prince of the Zombie Race finally opened his mouth.

Cain’s group had already prepared themselves the moment Serath stepped forward.

Ron had lowered the tip of his spear slightly.

Viktor’s body was tense, ready to rush forward the moment Serath made another suspicious movement.

Mo Xuanye seemed calmer than either of them, but Heavenly Demon Qi had already begun circulating throughout his body.

Cain had expected an attack.

What he did not expect was for that bastard to start a conversation as if the hundreds of dead Zombie Race soldiers had nothing to do with him.

Cain raised an eyebrow.

"Oh?"

A faint smile appeared on his face as he asked, "How do you know that?"

"Naturally, it’s simple." Serath’s crimson eyes moved toward Cain’s right arm, dark scales still covering it from Partial Dragon Manifestation.

His gaze lingered there briefly, then a small smile appeared on the prince’s face.

"But well..." Serath looked back into Cain’s eyes. "It doesn’t matter even if I tell you a few things anyway."

Cain’s smile widened slightly.

’He’s a smart one.’

He had deliberately asked the question hoping Serath would reveal how much the Zombie Race knew about him.

Apparently, the prince had noticed.

Cain had initially expected someone born into royalty to possess a certain amount of arrogance.

Serath definitely had that arrogance.

However, he was not stupid enough to answer every question simply because he believed himself stronger.

That made him considerably more troublesome.

Serath looked around the ruined avenue before returning his attention to Cain.

"Have you realized the things that you’ve done so far?"

Cain frowned slightly.

"Huh?"

His first thought went toward the Spatial Anchor Gates as the southern one had fallen because of him.

He had also been involved in the destruction of the western side, and now all four Anchors protecting the Corridor had disappeared and the World Gate Core deeper within the Central Base was already exposed.

"You mean destroying the Anchor Gates?"

Cain expected Serath to mention how much damage that had caused to the Zombie Race’s plan.

Instead, the prince stared at him for a moment.

Then he smiled slightly.

"It seems your world truly is a backwater one."

Cain’s eyebrow twitched.

Ron nearly said something from beside him, but Cain raised one hand slightly.

Serath chuckled when he noticed their expressions.

"I’m talking about the Universal Announcement."

Cain’s irritation disappeared, his eyes became more focused but he remained silent as he wanted to hear more of it.

Serath noticed the curiosity and continued.

"Because of that announcement, the entire Main World was thrown into an uproar."

He paused briefly, then his smile deepened as he continued again.

"Actually, saying only the Main World would be inaccurate since the whole Universe is paying attention to you."

Cain’s eyes lit up when something caught his attention.

’Main World.’

He had heard enough scattered information inside the Invasion Corridor to understand that the Zombie Race came from another world.

However, nobody had properly explained what the Main World actually was.

Cain memorized the term as he thought that this information might come to handy at some point in the future.

Mo Xuanye spoke from beside him.

"Just because of one announcement?"

His voice remained calm, but genuine curiosity appeared within his dark eyes.

"Yes." Serath glanced toward him and nodded, then shook his head helplessly afterward.

"You people underestimate the importance of a Universal Announcement too much."

A trace of amusement entered his expression.

"Wayyy too much, actually."

Ron frowned and commented, "Wasn’t it just the System announcing that this bastard did something stupidly difficult?"

Cain glanced at him.

"Why did you have to call it stupid?"

"Because you’re involved."

"Fuck off, Ron!"

Serath watched their brief exchange with mild interest.

"That’s exactly what I mean."

He tapped the front of his shoe against the dark stone beneath him.

"You don’t even understand what your own achievement represents."

Serath looked past them toward the humans still moving through the avenue.

"Well, ignorance is a bliss so I can’t really blame you."

Cain raised an eyebrow.

"You talk a lot for someone we’re about to kill."

Several of the 3rd Echelon zombies behind Serath reacted as they frowned deeply.

Serath merely raised an eyebrow in amusement for a moment, then chuckled lightly.

"Then let me make use of the time before you try."

Cain did not object, since any information Serath willingly gave them about the Universe was valuable.

If the Zombie Race truly came from a much greater civilization, knowing even a little about the world beyond Earth could save them from making stupid decisions later.

Serath seemed to understand what Cain was thinking.

"The world you came from is still young."

Cain remained silent.

"Not young in the way you measure the age of land or civilizations."

Serath raised one hand.

"I’m talking about its state within the System."

He pointed upward, although there was nothing above them except the distorted sky of the Invasion Corridor.

"Your world has only recently begun its true awakening."

Several people behind Cain quietly listened.

Even those still dealing with the remaining enemies had begun paying attention whenever they could.

Serath continued.

"Your world is located in an isolated region somewhere in the Universe. There are no mature worlds nearby that maintain stable connections to the Main World."

Cain finally spoke.

"So that’s why nobody knew anything when the Apocalypse started."

"Exactly."

Serath nodded.

"Your people awakened without guidance."

He seemed amused by the idea.

"No neighboring civilization warned you. Nobody explained Echelons or Talents beforehand. You were simply thrown into it and forced to understand everything yourselves."

Ron frowned.

"And there are other worlds like ours?"

"Countless."

Serath answered without hesitation.

That single word caused several expressions to change.

Cain’s eyes narrowed.

He had already suspected Earth could not possibly be the only world affected by the System.

But there was a significant difference between suspecting something and having someone from an established civilization confirm it.

Serath continued speaking.

"The Universe is much larger than whatever your people currently imagine. Worlds exist in regions you do not even know how to reach."

His voice remained casual as he continued, "Some are already connected to the Main World, while some others are still isolated like yours."

Cain looked toward the enormous structures deeper inside the Central Base.

"What exactly is the Main World?"

Serath smiled slightly.

"That’s a much longer explanation."

"Give me the short one."

"In a nutshell, it’s the place where everyone would eventually meet. If you’re strong enough, of course."

Serath did not elaborate much further.

"The Main World is not something your current understanding of a planet can properly describe. Races that survive long enough eventually establish themselves there."

He continued with a chuckle.

"Unfortunately, your world hasn’t reached that stage yet."

Cain understood enough.

The Main World was where the real civilizations existed.

Earth had not even properly entered whatever greater structure governed the Universe.

It was still at the entrance.

That thought did not make him feel insignificant as it made him more curious instead.

Serath continued.

"The event your people call the Apocalypse is essentially part of that process."

Cain’s gaze sharpened.

"Part of the process of connecting to the Main World?"

"In some sense, yeah." Serath nodded.

"But the timing isn’t identical for every world. Naturally, the method isn’t the same either and not every world survives until then."

Silence appeared among the nearby humans.

Serath said it too naturally as if the destruction of an entire world was not particularly unusual.

Cain’s voice became colder.

"What happens to the ones that don’t?"

Serath merely shrugged.

"That depends on what destroyed them."

He did not explain further.

Cain did not ask as there was no need for that, since the Zombie Race invasion in front of them already provided one possible answer.

A weaker world awakened.

Another civilization found it, then that civilization attempted to invade before the people living there became strong enough to resist.

Earth had simply been fortunate enough to produce people capable of fighting back.

Or perhaps unfortunate enough to attract something far worse in the process.

Serath looked toward Cain again.

"Now you should understand why your Universal Announcement mattered."

Serath smiled faintly as he opened his arms wide.

"There are countless worlds."

He paused long enough for everyone to understand the scale implied by those words.

"Different races, civilizations."

"And the System exists across all of them."

Cain’s expression changed slightly.

Serath noticed the change and continued.

"When a World Announcement occurs, only the people connected to that world receive it."

Cain already knew that as he had seen several World Announcements since the Apocalypse began.

"But a Universal Announcement?"

Serath chuckled softly.

"That is different, since the entire Universe hears your name."

Cain remembered the moment the announcement had appeared.

Back then, he had been surprised by such a thing and the reward.

He had understood that being first across the Universe meant his achievement was significant.

However, he had never truly thought that much about it as he didn’t know much about the outside world.

Though, he guessed that there must be other worlds considering that it was the Universal Announcement.